The Greatest Gift of All

[Andrew Belo]

Everything seemed to be going well and Evette seemed pleased by what he was saying. There was nothing false about his words though. He really did believe the kids were great and that they were missing nothing in their lives. The turning point in the conversation came when Andrew continued speaking. Andrew looked towards the dying flames again, fairly sure that he would be told to leave now. It figured that he would be the one to ruin the day. Why had he just opened his big mouth? Surely, he should be over it all already. He'd been telling himself he was for the past few months and he was pretty sure he was, but now he wasn't so sure. Maybe he wasn't over whatever it was he'd begun feeling for when she'd been pregnant. No, he knew he wasn't over it mostly because he'd never been able to explore what 'it' was. Was it affection? lust? or a bigger L word? He'd never had the chance to explore his feelings and see.

When she reached out to grab his hand, her hand felt warm and light in his own and he looked up to see her shaking her head and telling him there was no need to apologize. He stood silent for a moment and then shook his head sadly. He was glad to hear the apology, and seeing her face, he knew she really and truly meant it. "Oh Evette..." he began with a sigh looking down at their joined hands. "I don't what to say. I was pissed at you the day I found out. I never wanted to speak to you or see you again. And I went back to my old life but it was hard" he shrugged. "When I got the letter from LeAnn, I was curious but it kind of brought all that pain back again" he gave a sad smile to Evette and squeezed her hand slightly. "but I decided to come anyway cuz I'm kind of a sucker for pain, I guess and I was curious." Andrew shifted in his seat and then looked back up at her again, a small smile crossing his face and reaching his blue eyes. "I guess I'm trying to say thanks for the apology. I needed to hear you say that."

 

[Evette Belo]

Evette searched Andrew’s face for something, anything to let her know that her apology had gotten through to him and to see if he was going to accept it or throw it make in her face like the first time she had tried to apologise. She knew that she shouldn’t expect Andrew to forgive her, what she did was unforgivable, she knew that but as long as he knew she was sorry she figured she could at least live with that. Nevertheless Evette continued to explore his face for the smallest glimpse that maybe, just maybe, he would forgive her. She missed Andrew so much, today only proved that even more – even more than she imagined. It was things like this that made her glad that she hadn’t gotten close to LeAnn’s father or even the babies father because when they left, which they all did, she would feel like this. She didn’t know why she let things get so deep with Andrew, she just couldn’t get out and before she knew it, it was too late.

When she saw him shake his head her heart sank a little, she should have known that he couldn’t forgive her. She lowered her head; she didn’t want him to see the tears that were starting to form in her eyes. What was wrong with her? She never let herself get this emotional, especially over some man. She had spent most of her life teaching herself to become emotionless around men because they never gave her anything about pain and she was better than that and didn’t deserve that at all. She listened to Andrew speak and all the time she could feel a pain in her chest, where her heart was. This wasn’t what she wanted to hear but she supposed she had to stop living in her own world and go into the real world and this was it. She hated herself for putting through Andrew through; he didn’t deserve the pain she caused him. She knew that she probably did deserve everything that she was going through, it was only fair for the horrible person she was. When he squeezed her hand she looked up to his face again, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. At his words and his smile Evette’s face lit up considerably. “You’re welcome. But it should have come much sooner than this.” she said heavily, shaking her head at it. Hearing the old grandfather clock in the hallway she suddenly became aware of the time. “It’s uh...getting late.” she said, awkwardly. “Maybe...you should go.” she said quickly standing up and gathering the cups, sending them floating into the kitchen by themselves.

 

[Andrew Belo]

Andrew was glad that Evette cheered up because if she had continued tearing up, he would have felt awful. He already felt bad about bringing the subject up at all, especially since it wasn't his intention to make her feel bad or guilty. He was simply trying to be honest with her. He was about to say more but when he heard the clock chime, Andrew had a feeling that something had shifted. He looked up, startled as Evette stood up quickly, telling him that it was time to go. Andrew stood up a little more slowly and then began to look around for his coat. "You're right. I have an interview in the morning" he sighed. He hated doing interviews because even though they were supposed to be about the team and quidditch, he was always asked personal questions that he did not want to answer. Andrew looked around the room, still trying to recall where his coat had gone. He'd put it down somewhere but that had been hours ago.

"Accio Coat" he muttered as he brushed a hand through his short hair. Now, he was back to feeling awkward again. Andrew caught his caught as it flew over to him and quickly put it on, concentrating on his buttons rather than Evette's face. "Thanks again Evette" he said as they began moving towards the door. Andrew wasn't sure whether he should give Evette a hug, shake her hand or if he should just leave. He wanted to keep his exit as painless as possible. "I'll uh...see you around" he added automatically, not having any idea of whether or not it was true. It seemed that only time would tell whether he and Evette would see each other again though Andrew knew now that he wouldn't mind as much as he would have previously.

 

[LeAnn Adams]

Once LeAnn’s head had hit the soft coolness for her pillows she had become wide awake once more. She had lay in her bed for a while staring up at the dark roof, trying to listen to the voices from downstairs. Today had been pretty much perfect and what she thought a Christmas should be like with a family. She had really missed Andrew and she was very happy that he little plan had worked out perfectly – for an eleven year old she liked to scheme a lot. She really wanted to go downstairs when she could smell her mum’s hot coco but decided to let her and Andrew just talk with out anyone else bothering them – she really wanted the two to make up again like it was before. After a while she slowly got out of her bed and tiptoed down the hallway and hid at the top of the stairs while she watched Andrew getting ready to leave. She didn’t want him to leave just yet, they didn’t look like they did before yet, something was missing. She called over her house elf and whispered to her to use her magic and move the piece of mistletoe from the far end of the hall way up nearer to the door where Andrew and Evette now stood. All LeAnn had to do now was just wait.

 

[Evette Belo]

Evette didn’t know why she had decided to end the night so abrubtly but she knew she had too before she got too comfortable again. The way everything was reminded her too much of how it had been before and she didn’t want to go down that path again after she had just started to get over Andrew. Walking out of the living room to the hallway with Andrew, Evette walked over to the door. It was too late to change her mind now but she had a feeling that this might not be the last time she would be seeing Andrew again. She was happy with the progress they made tonight and hoped that the worst of it was behind them because not just for her but she knew for the sake of LeAnn and the babies, she needed to mend things with Andrew again. Evette tried to rid her face of the mixture of emotions that she was feeling right now and simply smiled. “You’re welcome.” she said. It was really Evette who should be thanking Andrew for staying today for she had enjoyed more than she had expected too and she it was thanks to Andrew. “I hope so.” she said sincerely. Reaching out to open the door she happened to notice something out of the corner of her eye. Tilting her head up words she frowned her eyes in confusion. I didn’t put that there. she said to herself. “Huh. That’s strange.” she muttered to herself. She definitely hadn’t put that mistletoe there. Moving her head down again she looked into Andrew’s eyes, sure there was tradition but should it really stand all the time? Especially with these two’s past, Evette knew it might not be a good idea but she had the overwhelming urge to not mess with fate.

 

[Andrew Belo]

Andrew was pleasantly surprised when he heard Evette say that she hoped they would see each other again. As she moved to open the door, he didn't feel so bad about it all. When her gaze crept upwards, Andrew's followed and his mouth dropped open into a silent O. It was a sprig of mistletoe hovering in the space above them but oddly enough he didn't recall it being there when he came in earlier. It was true that he had been distracted by his nerves about the whole situation, but he was pretty sure he would have noticed the mistletoe if it had been there.

His eyes fell towards Evette's once more and a confused expression crossed his face, followed by a nervous smile. There was only one thing to do when mistletoe was above, and being a bit of a superstitious guy, Andrew was not going to not do it. "Hmm...I wonder how this got here" he muttered aloud, his gaze drifting up once more though he didn't spot anything. Licking his lips nervously, his blue eyes fell on Evette once more as he stepped in a bit closer. "Can't break tradition, right?" His mouth moved towards hers, hesitating just as his lips were about to touch hers. This kiss would mean nothing, right? It was simply about the tradition, he reassured himself. Then, he bridged the gap, his lips pressing onto Evette's gently.

 

[Evette Belo]

Can't break tradition, right?

Evette couldn’t believe that she was hearing Andrew right. Sure she knew he had some superstitions but this was one that could have some repercussions for them. Considering their history Evette knew that this might not be a good idea. She wanted too, oh she wanted too, but they had just amended their friendship to some extent and it was something that she didn’t want to lose, especially so soon after fixing it. Her mind was whirring and she couldn’t focus on anything but when she saw his eyes getting closer to herself she soon found herself only able to focus on them and when their lips made contact all her worries left her head. It was soft and gentle and was probably by far one of the best kisses she had ever had. She lifted her arms slightly and wrapped them around Andrew’s neck. It was only meant to be a small kiss, it was a silly tradition and meant nothing but she couldn’t stop herself – it was as if she had longed for this kiss and didn’t want it to end so soon. Evette allowed herself to get into the kiss, too much which is why she pulled herself away as quickly as she could. Taking a few steps back from Andrew she lowered her head slightly, “Sorry.” She muttered, feeling tears starting to well up in her eyes. Why did she let herself so attached to Andrew? She had never let herself get attached to anyone before, so why did he have to be so different?

 

[Andrew Belo]

As Evette's arms nestled around his neck, his hands rested gently on her waist. He briefly wondered exactly why this kiss felt so amazing especially in light of the fact that he'd once done so much more with Evette. But, the feel of her lips on his was...was just right. He was about to pull her in closer when she broke away, snapping him back to his senses. As she retreated, Andrew covered his mouth, his fingers touching his lips before they moved to pinch the bridge of his nose and he closed his eyes for a second. Why in Merlin had he done that? Was he going crazy? Not only had he just likely ruined any progress he'd made with Evette tonight, but he'd done nothing but just increased his own pain. Andrew Belo...you're a mess, he berated himself, opening his eyes and feeling even more guilty and terrible when he saw the tears in her eyes.

Muttering a few curse words in Portuguese, Andrew guilty look turned incredulous as she apologized. "For what?" he blurted out, completely at a loss. Was it for the kiss? Was she the one who'd caused the mistletoe to appear? If she was, then he for one was glad she'd done it. It was far better than the kisses he'd had from the countless girls he'd slept with and he knew exactly why now. It was because Evette had come to mean something to him, to what extent he wasn't sure, but he knew that what had begun while she was pregnant was still there even knowing that not one of those kids was biologically his. It was like neither his heart nor his mind cared. "I'm not" he added, flashing a smile at her as he turned the knob and opened the door. He went to step through and then paused, turning back and reaching a hand out to lift her chin. "Merry Christmas Evette" he said softly, lingering for a second before turning to finally leave.